


Apartment 314

by Nikotheamazingspoonklepto



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Sexual Assault, BAMF Neil, Chief of Police!Wymack, DID Neil, Dadmack, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Lawyer!Andrew, M/M, Multi, Neil being Nathaniel, Officer!Matt, Officer!Seth, PI!Kevin, PI!Neil, Paramedic!Robin, Private Investigators, Recovering Andrew, To catch a pedophile, building towards kandreil, graphic torture of a certain someone in chapter 5, relationship building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-12-29 02:24:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18298370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikotheamazingspoonklepto/pseuds/Nikotheamazingspoonklepto
Summary: Day & Josten run their Private Investigation business out of their apartment and manage to make ends meet without touching Neil's family money. Some months are better than others, but the two of them have been content in their inner city apartment, running around and spying on people for money. Over the last seven years, they've built a life together and it's been good.Then Andrew Minyard, a lawyer from out of town knocks on their door and presents them with a case that they can't refuse - not with the amount of money offered - or the familiar look in his eye.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was a joy to write, Atlas (mr-im-fine on tumblr) drew some sweet pics that I couldn't help but pick! I've been vibrating with excitement since I finished, ready to post ^_^
> 
> Thank you to Gabriella for organizing this event! It was exciting!
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful beta, friend and cheerleader; Alexis- fuzzballsheltiepants! Seriously, I couldn't have done it without you.
> 
> And of course, Cory- foxsoulcourt who was encouraging and made these neat collages for every chapter.
> 
> So without further ado, Apartment 314.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Kevin and Neil close a case and open a new one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all. Look at this adorable drawing of Kevin and Neil in their natural habitat. Arguing :D Nice one Atlas!

                          

The second the door to apartment 314 closes, the bickering, which had started on the ride home and progressively grown more heated in the elevator, just explodes.

 

“This was a fucking stake out Neil, we were supposed to _observe_ and gather information,” Kevin growls as he engages the lock on their door before whirling around to see his partner vanishes down the hall toward the bathroom. “Neil!” He chases after him, annoyed, but also worried. “You need stitches! We should be going to a hospital. At least call Abby or my father.”

“For the last fucking time, Kev, you know I hate hospitals, and your father would _flip_. Either I can do this on my own or you can help me,” Neil growls as he flips the bathroom light on, flooding the white and orange room with bright light, nearly blinding him.

It is almost two a.m. and they’d been out all day and all night, watching their target’s apartment, waiting what seemed like an eternity for him to make a move. When he finally did, he wasn’t taking his normal route, so they followed, Kevin’s smartphone in his hand. A man they suspected to be a dealer of sorts met up with their target twenty minutes later; he must have tipped him off because suddenly ~~they~~ _Neil_ had sprinted ahead of Kevin, chasing him through the back alleyways while Kevin struggled to catch up. Which is how Neil ended up being thrown against a dumpster, his left forearm getting gashed open by a broken bottle when he hit the ground. Pretty mild of an injury for Neil given how reckless he is, but _still_.

Kevin caught the asshole and detained him before checking on Neil. The target was picked up by Matt and Seth, their two preferred officers and they booked the idiot for carrying drug paraphernalia with the intent to distribute. The case was passed over to the ‘professionals’ and they were told that they can expect to be paid in full by their client. Thankfully they are not working on anything else at the moment, allowing them (Neil) some time to heal before their next case. 

“No, I’ll do it, or you’ll hurt yourself more,” Kevin growls and rips the damp washcloth out of his hands and pushes Neil to sit on the lip of the tub, inspecting his arm from his seat on the toilet lid. As expected, Neil grumbles out his complaints but lets Kevin clean him up, not even phased when his gash is touched.

“Okay Day, show us your oh-so-expert medical skills.”

“I can’t if you don’t stop moving,” Kevin carefully wipes away dried blood and dirt from the wound, inspecting the jagged gash for any glass or debris. He sighs when picking at a stray shard, murmuring his thanks for the tweezers Neil hands him. More blood oozes from the wound, making him click his tongue. “One of these days I’m not going to be able to do this for you.” 

“Then I’ll just do it myself.” 

Kevin’s face scrunches up as he glares at Neil, finding a stubborn determination in his perfect blue eyes. Neil had to do everything himself after his mother died and left him alone for far too long, even though his uncle ‘came to his rescue’ eventually. 

“You wouldn’t last a week without me.” He returns to cleaning Neil’s wound. When he looks up again, after a long stretch of silence, Neil is grinning. “What?”

“Then you better stick around so we don’t find out.”

“Brat.”

Neil just grins back, so Kevin sprays his wound with some antiseptic, making Neil hiss against his will. Yes, just another typical day.

 

\---

 

A few days later finds the pair curled up on their mustard yellow couch, watching the news. Kevin is stretched across the entire length of the couch, switching between the television and his phone, scrolling for anything interesting while drinking cheap beer. Meanwhile, Neil is laying between his legs with his back pressed to Kevin’s bare chest, checking their business email on their laptop.

“Anything?”

Neil hums and refreshes the page once more. As expected, nothing comes up and he groans, closing the laptop, slumping his head onto Kevin’s shoulder. He smiles when Kevin’s fingers find his hair and sinks even further into Kevin's body. 

“We’ve got enough from the last few cases to pay for food and rent through this and next month.”

“I know, but I don’t want to dip into our savings or worse…” Neil trails off and turns over in Kevin’s hold, resting the laptop on the stack of books acting as a coffee table. He looks up at Kevin with his chin on his bare chest and his hands trying to worm their way under him in an awkward embrace.

This makes Kevin smile and abandon both his phone and the remote, then his beer after another swig. Neil relishes the warmth of Kevin's hands covering practically his entire back, before one sneaks up to tug on his hair, then toys with his cartilage piercing.

“I know you don’t like touching that money, but if we have to-”

“I’ll sell my body on a street corner first,” Neil quips and rolls his eyes at Kevin’s bored expression in response to his empty threat. “I could…” he mumbles into his chest.

“Drama queen.”

Neil reaches up to Kevin’s face, not even lifting his head to flick the chess piece tattooed onto his left cheek, a silent ‘says you’. He grins against Kevin’s chest when Kevin yanks Neil’s hair and gives his chest a sharp nip in response.

“Hey!”

“Yeah?” Neil looks up, his blue eyes glittering mischievously.

“Don’t start something you won’t finish.”

“Okay, I won’t,” Neil seals his promise with a kiss, grinning as Kevin’s hands instantly begin tugging at his clothes and exploring the tapestry of scars on his skin.

Kevin has managed to work Neil’s oversized t-shirt off and Neil has his fingers hooked into Kevin’s sweatpants when a knock on their door startles the both of them. A glance at Kevin’s phone tells them it is indeed _not_ the first of the month and they wouldn’t have ordered take out with money being tight, so…

“Client?” Kevin suggests hopefully. Either they have a near constant stream of clients or their doorway forms dust from the lack of traffic. No middle ground.

A more impatient knock rattles their brains and Neil grumbles while climbing off of his partner, grabbing his t-shirt. “Either that, or your father came to yell at us again.” He pulls on the t-shirt and passes Kevin his hoodie. The door rattles this time with the next knock and Neil pulls his switchblade out, already annoyed. He hates how comfortable he is, holding such a weapon, but Chief Wymack had said if he ever caught Neil with Kevin’s gun again, he’d lock him up. Can’t have that, Kevin would yell at him. 

“What!?” Neil throws the door open, immediately surprised to be looking down at the annoyance at the door, instead of up. A man, shorter than himself but broader and far more muscular. He’s blond with hazel eyes and a bored expression masking something else. Neil can’t decide if it’s rage or fear, or both. 

“This how you treat all your potential clients?” The man deadpans, lowering his fist and flicks his eyes over Neil, unfazed when he spots the switchblade in his hand.

Neil grins at him as Kevin comes up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s usually told them to fuck off by now,” Kevin has his public smile on, Neil can hear it in his voice. “Day and Josten at your service, what can we help you with…”

“Minyard,” he provides, not taking his eyes off of Neil for a moment, but he does look at Kevin’s hand on Neil’s shoulder. As his eyes flit over the pair of them, Neil realizes he’s already figured out that this is more than just a business relationship. 

“Well _Minyard_ ,” Neil crosses his arms, fingering the now closed knife, easily meeting his gaze. “What kind of case do you have for us?” 

Neil watches the muscle in Minyard’s jaw work and fire flicker in his eyes. Definitely rage. Good, he’ll do what it takes to have this case closed by them.

“I need to… I need you to help me catch a pedophile.” Minyard’s adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, appearing as if he might start vibrating in anger. Neil would be too, if he’s reading this correctly, but he wants and needs more data. “Word is you’re the best and will do what it takes.”

“For the right price,” Neil grins. “Why don’t you come in and we’ll have a chat.”

Minyard flicks his eyes between him and Kevin again, far too tense, but he nods. Kevin releases his shoulder and Neil follows him inside, keeping his ears open as Minyard follows after him. When he looks back, Minyard just shrugs and follows after, closing the door behind him. While Kevin shuts off the television and tidies the living room, Neil leads Minyard over to their ‘office’, aka the table adjacent to their kitchen, with numerous filing cabinets under the windows. There is paperwork everywhere, as well as newspaper clippings and photographs on the largest wall in their apartment. All of which Minyard is taking in as he sits in one of the four chairs surrounding the table. His shoulders are painfully rigid, a counterpoint to his bored expression.

“Sooo,” Neil drops into the chair by the window and rests his feet on the table while plucking at the bandage on his arm. “Do you have a first name or are we stuck calling you ‘Minyard’?”

“Do _you_ have a first name or am I stuck calling you ‘Day and Josten’?”

Neil laughs as Kevin shoves his feet off the table, waving off his annoyed comment. “I’m Neil, this is Kevin,” he points his thumb after his partner who is now making coffee. “ _You’re going to fuck up our sleep cycles again_ ,” Neil complains in French. He notes how Minyard’s expression doesn’t change at hearing a new language.

“ _Hush, we’ve got a case and it sounds like a big one_ ,” Kevin pours water into the machine once the coffee grounds are in the filter and presses start. Kevin is such a snob, he uses their grocery fund for real coffee, claiming the instant to be beneath him, only to drink shitty beer. “How do you take your coffee…”

That’s right, he still didn’t answer.

“Andrew.” Finally. “Five heaping scoops of sugar and flavored creamer if you have it.”

Neil’s nose wrinkles as Kevin struggles to maintain his polite facade. “I hope you enjoy diabetes.”

Andrew’s lips twitch with a smirk. “I will.”

“Alright, enough,” Kevin sighs. “Andrew, tell us about who we’re looking for.”

Neil looks expectantly at Andrew, pulling his yellow legal pad with its fox paws drawn in the margins towards him. He adds to them while Andrew remains silent, Kevin pouring out the freshly brewed coffee when it’s done.

By the time Kevin has placed three mugs on the table, Andrew has still not said anything, staring at Neil but sparing a glance at Kevin as he sits down between them.

“Investigations usually go faster if the client gives us something to go on,” Neil lifts his mug to his lips and settling his feet onto the table once more, only for Kevin to shove them off again.

“ _Stop being rude_.”

“ _Him first._ ”

“Give me something first.” Andrew cuts in before Kevin can gripe at Neil some more.

Neil looks at their potential client carefully, he's still so… _rigid_. He doesn't trust easily either, not with sensitive information, but this is a little ridiculous. This case is personal then.

That _really_ does not sit well with Neil and he knows Kevin has realized it too when his fingers clutch his mug tightly.

“I want to see some cash first,” Neil finally tells him, meeting Andrew's gaze and watching his jaw clench.

The standoff ends when Andrew reaches into the inside of his jacket, slowing his movements when Neil tenses, free hand lifting in a pacifying gesture. Andrew pulls out a crisp bank envelope and places it on the table. The envelope isn't too thick, but it isn't thin and Neil would guesstimate about a thousand dollars is confined within.

“Money isn't an object, but I will not be taken advantage of.”

“Not our kind of thing.” Neil doesn't flash him his usual grin and after another moment Andrew pushes the envelope across to Kevin, who picks it up and peers inside.

“Our starting fee is twenty-five hundred,” Kevin announces ‘professionally’.

Neil doesn't fight his eye roll. This is taking _way_ too long to get to the point.

“We don't even know if we're taking the case, Day,” Neil gives him a firm reminder and sips his coffee, gesturing at Andrew. “You wanted something first?”

Andrew's eyes glint with interest before returning to serious and nods.  “Why are you private investigators? I would have thought you’d be on the thin blue line, what with Day being the son of the police chief.”  

Not surprising he'd have done his research. Neil would bet that Andrew is the type to memorize every tiny detail, eliminate any potential risk of surprise. Still, he can't help but flash him his sharpest grin.

“The law and I don't get along very well, long history and all that. Same with Kev.”

“Interesting,” Andrew actually sips his sugar infused coffee. How he can manage, it makes Neil’s stomach hurt to think about. “That makes three of us.”

Obvious, not new information at all. It seems like it's going to be like pulling teeth with him.

“Let's start with the basics.” There is the bite of impatience in Kevin's voice, and Neil begins timing how much longer he can hold onto his polite facade. “Who are you trying to catch and what evidence do you have for us to go on?”

“Drake Spear, retired Marine, finished as a corporal. I found that he relocated here upon retiring,” Andrew clutches his mug hard. “He works as a Marine Corps JROTC instructor at a high school in the area.”

Neil sees Kevin pulling out his phone to begin conducting research immediately and Neil writes the name and rank down, waiting for more.

“I don't have any evidence, he's very thorough.” 

“And you want us to find evidence to have him convicted? What makes you think there is any?” Kevin is probably fixing him with a suspicious look. Ah, Neil has trained him well.

Andrew meets Kevin’s gaze with a sharp gleam in his eyes. “He was in a position of power, of course there will be evidence. That is _if_ anyone comes forward.”

“How do you know?” Andrew gives Neil a bored look and Neil is just done with this. He’s given them nothing to go on.

“Obviously this is too personal for you to talk about and we’re— _I’m_ not playing games. I guess you were either lying about wanting to catch this guy or this is all bullshit and you want us to intentionally fuck up a guy’s life.” As expected, Neil’s call out brings out the anger he was going for, watching Andrew’s body lock up with rage and his eyes narrow.

“He was my foster brother, so _I know_.” Ah. There it is. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Kevin curses in French. “ _Neil, he’s not going to trust us if you-_ ”

Neil tunes him out, staring at Andrew and wonders just how much pain he’s suffered through, how far this pedophile took it. How old was he? He didn’t want this to be the truth, doesn’t want anyone to suffer such a fate. It was a different type of evil from what Neil had lived through, but no less vicious. 

“We need names,” Neil starts, clicking his pen and places it on the line of his legal pad, shifting into business mode. “Addresses, phone numbers, and dates. Anything you can give us, as far back as you can remember so we can build a case against him.”

Neil’s serious shift sheds some of the tension in Andrew’s posture, not all of it, but enough.

“I remember everything,” Andrew shifts in his seat and swallows down the rest of his coffee, placing the empty mug in front of Kevin. “I’ll start with the original foster home.”

And they begin, Neil writing down everything Andrew gives him while Kevin makes another pot of coffee and conducts research on their laptop. Andrew watches them carefully, not once having to look up his own information as he rattles off all of the foster kids in the care of Drake’s mother, Cassandra Spear. He even has addresses for all of them and the addresses of everywhere Drake has been stationed since. He feels his gut twist as Andrew informs them of the children in her care since he left. It takes roughly an hour, three pots of coffee and several pages of Neil’s notes in his barely legible handwriting before Andrew is done.

Neil feels ice in his veins when Andrew finishes and understands the exhaustion he’s trying to hide from them. Kevin’s knee has been knocked against his for the last ten minutes and Neil is grateful for the contact.

“Your turn.” Andrew pulls out a pack of cigarettes, eyebrow lifted in question. Neil can already hear Kevin’s complaints about the smoke, so he stands and lets his fingers graze over Kevin’s neck as he walks around him, Andrew’s eyes following him. 

“We’ll go to the fire escape,” Neil grabs a hoodie —Kevin’s— from its place on top of a stack of books and heads for their bedroom, tugging it on. “ _Do more research_.”

“ _Don’t do anything stupid_.” Kevin calls when they're already through the door.

Neil rolls his eyes and opens the window, feeling Andrew following him. After shoving his feet into the sneakers he keeps by the window, he climbs out onto the fire escape, his feet clanging on the metal and waits for Andrew to follow. He’s clearly uneasy, even though he feigns nonchalance as he lights up. Neil holds out his hand for one, lifting an eyebrow at him when Andrew glares in response.  Andrew does end up giving him the cigarette after taking a drag. Neil inhales the acrid smoke deeply, keeping his back to the cold breeze. 

“Ask,” he asks once Andrew’s lit his second cigarette.

Hazel eyes study him carefully, leaning against the brick wall beside the window and not the railing like Neil is. Fear of heights? A joke about his stature comes to mind, Kevin’s voice in his head tells him to keep it to himself. He listens for once.

“Your real name.”

_Very_ thorough in his research.

“My name is legally Neil Josten, therefore that is my real name.” Neil puffs lightly on his cigarette.

“Then what _was_ your name?”

Neil smirks. “Investigating your PI? Find anything interesting?”

“Only that your history goes back to when you were almost seventeen, what was it, witness protection?”

Neil shrugs. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t trust liars.”

“I haven’t lied about anything.”

That gives Andrew pause, hazel eyes darting between his blue ones. “Yet.”

“Comes with the job,” Neil rolls his neck, sighing at the pleasant crack it produces. Maybe he can get Kevin to give him a massage. “Well, when dealing with my assignments.” 

“Hm.” Andrew continues to stare at him and Neil is tired of how long he takes to accomplish anything. It’s exhausting.

“Why are you and your lover, private investigators?”

Neil blinks at that, the term ‘lover’. Andrew doesn’t strike him as the type to be homophobic, in fact he is pretty certain Andrew has been eyeing them both up in a way that isn’t just distrustful. Maybe he’s just reading into that too much. Still, no harm in answering this question.

“I’ll give you the CliffsNotes version, for privacy’s sake.” When Andrew nods, Neil continues. “Kevin’s adoptive brother used to abuse Kevin’s boyfriend when they were teenagers,” Neil frowns at the memory of Jean. “Back then he was powerless to stop it because his uncle was a fucked up guy too. Kev wanted to do something about it and my uncle,” — he decides to leave out the messy ordeal with his father— “and his adoptive brother’s father knew each other. So our paths crossed and well, I saw what was going on and talked to Kev.  He asked for help to take his brother down, so I did. We ended up going to college together.” Neil shrugs. “Kev was originally going to join the force, put his Criminal Justice degree to good use, but his father didn’t think it was a good idea. He has a bit of a tendency to get violent with certain unsavory types.”

“Meaning…”

Neil flashes Andrew a vicious smile. “He emasculated his brother while I held him down.”

When Andrew doesn’t even flinch, only nodding, Neil isn’t surprised. Andrew did say that he came to them because they would do whatever it takes to do the job. Neil takes another drag of his cigarette and wonders, not for the first time, what his mum would think of him now, before pushing it from his mind. He follows Andrew as he pushes from the wall, leaning on the railing beside him, noting how he stares pointedly out and not down. 

“Ask,” Andrew commands in an even tone. Neil doesn’t have to think on his question for long.

“Why did you wait so long to go after Drake?”

Andrew pauses to light up another cigarette, exhaling the smoke into the air slowly as it blows back into his face. “I also studied Criminal Justice, but went to law school so I could put him behind bars. Turns out it’s not that easy after all.”

Neil turns around to lean against the railing beside him, knowing Andrew is already thinking about why he came to him and Kevin. It’s pointless to state that Andrew would do whatever it takes to deal with Drake. He’s ready to go outside of the law, despite working within it. Good.

“Where are you staying?”

Andrew looks at him, a spark of curiosity in his eyes, Neil feels a smirk twitching at his lips.

“I was going to get a hotel nearby.”

“Was?”

“I assume you asked because you have an alternate solution.”

Neil laughs, his smile wide and genuine. “Yeah, our couch is pretty damn comfortable, but we also have an inflatable mattress that might strike your fancy.”

“Well I am not sleeping on that hideous couch,” Andrew scoffs, although there is a ghost of a smile at the corner of his lips. It’s the most relaxed Neil has seen him so far, and he finds himself laughing.

“Your lover won’t throw a fit, will he?”

“No. Well, yes, he throws a fit about everything,” Neil swears Andrew chuckled at that. “Why do you call him that?”

“‘Lover’? You two are so clearly in love, it’s nauseating.” Andrew does smirk as Neil practically howls with laughter, shaking his head at Andrew, glad the tension is easing away. It’ll make this job easier. He can’t help but wonder why though, especially with how on guard Andrew was at the start. “That and I’m pretty sure I interrupted something when I showed up.”

Neil huffs, cheeks burning. “You _did_ , it was getting good too, asshole!” When he looks back at Andrew, there is a softness to his gaze and no tension left in his posture— except for the typical preparedness for everything and anything that Neil understands all too well. Still, it’s like looking at a whole new person and Neil isn’t sure what to make of all of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "(J)ROTC stands for Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps. It is a military regulated high school program whose purpose is to educate high school students in leadership roles while making them aware of the benefits of citizenship. The mission of JROTC is to motivate young people to become better American citizens."
> 
> Now everyone laugh with me about how fucking ridiculous it is that DRAKE SPEAR is working with children. -blank stare-


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes chapter 2.
> 
> Thanks to fuzzballsheltiepants for the beta!
> 
> And thanks to foxsoulcourt for the collage! <3

                                                   

“Are stakeouts usually this boring?” Andrew asks from the backseat of Kevin’s car, the two PIs up front while he lounges across the pleather of the seat. It’s shit compared to his Maserati sitting in an overnight parking garage.

“It’s lots of waiting, watching and observing,” Kevin states as a matter of fact.

“Figuring out patterns mostly,” Neil hums and sips quietly from his thermos of tea.

Andrew huffs and sits up, nicotine withdrawal gnawing his insides. With his arms resting on the back of their seats, he leans forward to look at what they’re doing. His stomach turns at the sight of Kevin flipping through photos of Drake leaving for work on his camera. Instead he looks to Neil, doodling on his travel notepad, again with the little fox paws.

Over the past few days they’ve been around each other, Andrew had found it eerily comfortable settling into a pattern with the couple. Kevin and Neil bicker a lot, mostly in French, and yet they are very affectionate, caring for each other in a way Andrew didn’t believe was possible. They always know what the other is thinking, what they need, moving about each other in sync. Neil likes to graze his fingers over Kevin’s skin in passing while Kevin will either play with Neil’s hair or hug him from behind whenever Neil is standing still for a moment. Their favorite position seems to be Neil curling up in Kevin's lap while researching. Neil knows that Kevin doesn’t like him smoking (or rather _smelling_ ) cigarettes and takes them out on the fire escape. Kevin leaves Neil’s sneakers by the door and has breakfast ready for him after his morning run. They’ve been together for seven years and it’s almost as if they’ve been married for longer. Strange.

The first few days, Andrew left them to do their job, exploring the city and buying pointless souvenirs for his family and Renee and Bee. He was texted by the couple sporadically, answering their questions as they came in, and listened to their updates every evening when they regrouped at apartment 314. He realized he didn’t like sitting back and letting them do all of the work on an assignment he has been dreaming about closing for the last decade and a half. So he told them he was coming with and wondered why they didn’t argue.

Now sitting here, bored out of his mind, he understands.

A heavy sigh brings his attention back to the present and he lazily swings his gaze to Kevin as he slumps in the driver’s seat. “Alright, the building is mostly empty, we’ll go in and take a look around for evidence. You said he never took pictures or video, right?”

Andrew doesn’t fight the small frown that tugs at his lips, not wanting to think about the ‘what if?’ of Drake keeping mementos of his… conquests. “No.” He swallows against the dryness in his mouth. “Like I said, he was always good at covering his tracks.” That would be more telling than he'd like it to be, but he's managed to offer them tiny bits of his past involving Drake.

Kevin looks back at him, those brilliant green eyes of his boring into his own like they are searching for something and know they'll find it one way or another. It’s different from the calculating way Neil studies him, tracking his every move with icy blue eyes that almost send chills down Andrew’s spine. For a moment, he wonders how it would feel to be a target instead of a client, being stared down by the both of them. They are unsuspecting, easy to disappear into the herd of businessmen and college students, rather than a couple of skilled freelance detectives. Perfect for the job.

“Alright, stay here, but in the driver’s seat in case we need to book it.”

“We won’t be long,” Neil winks at him as Kevin climbs out of the car.

Andrew climbs over the seat and sits where Kevin had, annoyed when he has to move it forward by several clicks, just so his feet can touch the pedals. When he looks over, Neil is fixing his hair in the sun visor mirror, and swiping a finger along the black eyeliner on his bottom lid that hadn’t been there when they left this morning. It makes his eyes really stand out and it ignites a flame in his abdomen that he knows he should ignore, but doesn’t.

“What are you doing?”

Neil flashes him a smile and flips the visor back up. “Kev likes it when I wear eyeliner.  Says it helps him focus when we need to fall into the lovey-dovey couple act if we get any weird looks while on a job. People tend to not want to stare at PDA, especially PDA between two men.”

_I really don’t think you need help with that ‘act’_. “Don’t get caught, I’m not wasting any money on bailing you two out,” Andrew deadpans.

Neil laughs and climbs out of the car, stopping at Kevin's side. The ‘act’ they slip into is very much real, in Andrew’s eyes, because he’s seen them smile fondly at each like they are now, but not usually when their partner is looking. Kevin kisses Neil chastely before tucking him against his side, Neil’s hand slipping into Kevin’s back pocket.

It’s all too much for Andrew at eight in the morning. He watches anyway as they trek down the sidewalk towards Drake’s apartment building, the few pedestrians milling about giving them a wide berth, just proving Neil’s claim to be true.

For a moment, he wonders what it’s like to have gone through what Kevin had and deal with whatever demons Neil has, and still manage to be so open and free with another person. Maybe it’s because they share their trauma and Andrew still can’t go further than oral sex with a man, even when using padded handcuffs. He entertains the thought of the couple letting him experiment with them for another brief moment and pushes it away just as fast. He’s paying them to close the door to a nightmare he wouldn’t wish on another person, that is all. When this is done, he’s gone. He can call Bee to deal with his issues then.

 

~

 

“You two have been getting along,” Kevin mutters, padding carefully through Drake’s studio apartment. They’ve been breaking and entering targets’ homes for years now, but it doesn’t stop feeling any less creepy despite how casual his partner is about it.

“Yeah, he’s pretty rough around the edges, but he’s straightforward if you know what you’re looking for.” Neil uses Kevin’s smartphone to snap a picture of Drake’s calendar, page by page, humming before making a note.

Kevin looks over at his lithe boyfriend and trails his eyes over his body, appreciating how he dressed in those skinny jeans he loves on him and a sweater that actually fits his slim body, the teal shade bringing out the darker flecks of blue in his eyes. He’ll dress for the part of his super-in-love-boyfriend when they do work similar to this, but he doesn’t usually wear their date night clothes on a job. Worry and a bit of jealousy gnaws painfully at his stomach, turning his insides while he recalls watching him and Andrew climbing out the window onto the fire escape for shared cigarettes during breaks from research. Normally Neil would bother him for a massage or Kevin could pin him to the nearest surface for a quickie or at least a heated make-out session. Instead, he’s been spending time with their client-turned-temporary-roommate. _That Neil invited_.

“You okay Kev?” Neil snaps him back to reality, realizing he’d been staring into space, not doing his job when he looks to his boyfriend’s concerned face.

At least he still cares. Kevin swallows and nods, looking at the display on his camera and fiddles with the zoom to take a picture of the stash of fetish porn in Drake's nightstand drawer. “Yeah, just not a fan of this job.” It’s not a lie, perverts have always been his least favorite kind of person to investigate. Not like he can lie to Neil; what was that saying, never lie to a liar? And Neil is the best liar Kevin has ever met.

“Me neither,” Neil agrees and walks over to him, looking up with his wide blue eyes and a gloved hand on his bicep. “We can take a little break after this one, Andrew is paying us enough to last us a few months. We can get out of town for a bit.” Neil offers him that sweet, supportive smile of his, the one only Kevin ever gets to see.

It relaxes Kevin’s nerves, the gnawing jealousy seeping away to a barely noticeable ache. Most of their clients manage to get along with Neil, as long as they can handle his smart mouth. The privilege of the beautiful, Kevin supposed. Andrew’s stoic personality and snark somehow mesh well with Neil’s sass and Neil tends to be a little oblivious to other people being attracted to him. And Andrew is quite obviously attracted to Neil. But Neil has always said Kevin is the only one he cares about when the inevitable jealousy rears its head. He shouldn’t— can’t let it get in the way. It’s a lot of money to turn down because of Kevin’s fragile ego.

“That would be a nice change of pace,” Kevin concedes and slides his own gloved fingers into Neil’s curls, tugging him in for a soft kiss. It’s not sexual, but no less intimate as it comforts Kevin’s remaining nerves. Neil’s hands press to his chest and slide up to squeeze his shoulders. When they part, Kevin presses his forehead to Neil’s, smiling as he leans down from having to bend to accommodate the height difference.

“Alright, we’ll go somewhere nice,” Neil beams. “Faster we finish this, the sooner we can plan our vacation.” Neil gives him another peck and returns to snooping, snapping photos again.

Kevin sighs and joins in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes Chapter Three!!!
> 
> Thanks to my lovely beta, fuzzballshetiepants (who I had the pleasure to meet irl recently!)
> 
> and thank you to foxsoulcourt for the collage!

                              

“God this guy is gross,” Neil complains as he clicks through the pictures Kevin took, leaning against Kevin’s side on their couch. His partner is spreading out pages of the information gathered, looking through Neil’s notes.

“Pedophiles tend to be that way,” Andrew comments from the ‘dining room’. He's raiding the fridge he personally stocked with food and desserts for himself the first day when he was alone. It was nice having good food available, not having to think about planning or budgeting for their next meal. When they asked him about it, he shrugged and said to help themselves. Kevin was way too excited about the veggies, but to be fair, Neil already ate half of the five-pound bag of apples Andrew bought.

“‘Barely legal twinks’?” Kevin gags and flips a page, reading the titles of the videos Neil recorded. “‘Teacher's Pet’? ‘Daddy's Boy’? This guy is a _high school_ instructor.” After flinging the papers onto the stacks of books acting as their coffee table, Kevin jumps to his feet.

Neil frowns after Kevin as he starts digging in their alcohol cupboard for the bottle of vodka he hasn't touched in months. “Kev— ”

“Not now,” Kevin doesn't even look back at Neil as he storms off to the bedroom, with a glass and bottle in hand, slamming the door shut behind him.

Neil doesn't move to stop him, not wanting to fight with Kevin about this right now. Instead, he sets the laptop down and slumps against the back of the couch, heaving a heavy sigh. He pinches the bridge of his nose, only looking up when a weight settles a bit away from him to find Andrew watching him while eating ice cream straight from the carton.

“He drink a lot when overwhelmed?”

Neil nods after a moment, frown deepening. “Yeah.” He thinks about how much worse it was, for the first year after they helped Jean escape from Riko and Tetsuji. The part that broke Kevin, hurt him the most, was Jean leaving him because it was too much. Neil never understood what that meant, not entirely, but he supposes that in the end, he was the one to benefit as Kevin leaned on him for support and one thing led to another… “It's a thing with him. He’s usually better about his drinking when on a job, but this case is… a lot.”

Andrew hums in acknowledgment, dipping into his pint of Ben and Jerry’s with his oversized spoon. “Ask.”

Neil blinks in confusion, turning to look at their client but Andrew just stares at him. “Um…” He pauses, recalling their conversations on the fire escape. “What… how did you deal with what happened?”

“You mean how do I deal with the fact I was sexually abused as a child?”

Neil winces at Andrew’s blunt, dead-voiced delivery and nods.

“Years of therapy and I’m still not recovered.” Andrew looks into his ice cream as he collects another spoonful, his brows pinched in a frown, lips pressed into a thin line.

“Which is why you came to us?”

“I believe I already answered that question.”

“Oh, yeah…”

“How do you two manage? With what happened with Jean.”

Andrew’s fingers grip his spoon a little tighter and Neil barely catches the way he shrugs off the tension in his shoulders, forcing himself to relax. This is not something Andrew would normally ask, Neil can see how uncomfortable it makes him.

“We’ve been together for several years, I didn’t even look at people that way until Kev. It wasn’t easy, especially for Kevin, but we kind of just fell into it together I guess.” Neil can’t help but smile to himself, remembering all of the progress they’ve made, how far they’ve come.

“Oh.”

Andrew seems to sag into himself a little, his apathetic mask slipping into something akin to rejection. Neil just doesn’t get it.

“But you’re not attracted to anyone.” Neil nods. “Why?”

“My mother used to beat the shit out of me for looking at someone for longer than a few seconds.”

Andrew looks at him, fire in his eyes. “She abused you.”

Neil winces again. “Yeah…”  He’s learned to accept that is what it was.

“Did Kevin’s brother abuse him like he did Jean?”

“No— I don’t think so, he never told me about anything like that,” he frowns at the idea of someone, especially Riko, touching Kevin like that. It makes him want to emasculate Riko all over again.

“What about you?”

“Why are you so interested in this?”

Andrew doesn’t respond immediately, stabbing at his ice cream, glaring at it.

“Bee tells me that sharing traumas with other victims is a step towards recovery.”

“Bee?”

Andrew rolls his eyes. “My therapist. She thinks me talking about it will help. That it will help me put it behind me, so I can move forward.” Neil stares at him. “I can only move forward after that sick fuck is _dead_.”

“That’s why you came to us? Are you going to kill him after we— ”

“I’m a lawyer, I’m not stupid enough to incriminate myself, idiot.”

Neil scowls at that. “Then what are we even talking about?”

“How do you even let him touch you after all of that?” Andrew turns his glare on Neil.

“I love him and Kevin would never hurt me.”

“Never say never, everyone is capable of hurting other people.” Andrew waves his spoon in Neil’s face, jamming it into his pint and takes a huge bite. Neil wonders how he doesn’t get a headache.

“So you think dealing with Drake will help you be able to be intimate with someone?”

“Maybe.”

“‘Maybe’?” Neil sighs and looks to the bedroom door when he hears Kevin’s phone ring, hoping Kevin doesn’t need him and then back to Andrew. “Tell me what you want, Andrew. I’m a detective, but I need something more to go on.”

“I want nothing,” Andrew forces out. “But I would be… content with being able to touch a man without wanting to puke.”

“Andrew…” The man in question turns away from him and Neil just feels so lost. He feels an unfamiliar urge to comfort Andrew, wanting to protect him, even though they’ve had a rocky start and met in such uncomfortable circumstances. “Andrew, what do you _need_ from me?”

Andrew does look back at him after a moment. “I _need_ you to close this case. Manifest some evidence if you have to.”

“You’re a _lawyer_.”

“And your father's a mobster.”

“Serial killer, actually.” Neil blinks, surprised at how easily he gave out that information and Andrew lifts a pale brow at that. “He’s dead.”

“Alright then.” Andrew shovels another bite into his mouth and replaces the lid, holding the spoon in his mouth. Neil waits for him to finish his bite, seeing the question on his face before he asks it. “You said you’ll do what it takes.”

Neil nods. “We will.”

“No, _you_ will.”

Neil pauses, wondering how far he expects him to go with this. Neil wonders how far he’d go as well. He did what he did to Riko, because of Kevin, but would he do that for Andrew? Neil was as close to Kevin at the time he is to Andrew now, so…

“Babe,” Kevin interrupts, stomping into the living room and Neil frowns at the redness on his cheeks and the significantly emptier vodka bottle in his hand. At least he isn’t swaying on his feet or slurring, but Kevin can hold his liquor pretty well. “The Chief called, we have that district-wide career fair in an hour.”

“What? Nooo!” Neil whines and slumps into the arm of the couch. “You said you’d get us out of that!?” He pouts up at his boyfriend. “Can’t you just tell him we’re on a case?”

Kevin rolls his eyes. “I did and he told me ‘tough shit, make sure you’re on time and dress Josten properly.’ So, we’re going.”

Andrew snorts and gets up from the couch, heading to the fridge again. Neil frowns after him, wanting to finish their conversation, but the moment Kevin walked in, Neil watches that hint of honesty Andrew had offered him get locked away once more. He shouldn’t even _care_ , Andrew is their client and— Neil shakes his head, standing up to take the bottle from his boyfriend.

“Hey-”

“We have a _career fair_ to go to, no more,” Neil scolds and Kevin simply huffs before heading back into the bedroom. “Here,” Neil holds the bottle out to Andrew, who stares at it boredly before taking it.

“I don’t imagine you and your smart mouth doing well with children, but you are small enough to pass as a ninth grader. Maybe they’ll think Kevin is your drunk chaperone.”

Neil’s scowl from earlier returns, flipping Andrew off. “Look who’s talking, _midget_.” Andrew simply returns the gesture, setting the bottle on the counter.  Neil wonders why his hand lingers on neck of the bottle and hopes he isn’t an alcoholic too. “Whatever, we’ll be gone for at least two hours, so do whatever you want while we’re gone.”

Andrew stops him from heading into the bedroom when Kevin calls for him. “What school?”

Neil stares at Andrew as he manages to recall the info, realizing—  “Would he go to a career fair?”

“You’re the detective, idiot.”

Neil glares at him and then heads to the bedroom as he thinks about Drake’s character. He only complains a little while Kevin manhandles him into the dress pants he hates, his ‘nice’ dress shirt and a _tie_ . It will be a miracle if he doesn’t strangle Kevin with _his_ tie by the end of the night, as he fusses over his hair. Instead, he settles for making him gargle with the mouthwash he hates for a full minute so he doesn’t smell like he just came from the bar. It’s gonna be an interesting night.

 

~

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t get us out of this,” Neil complains as he parks Kevin’s car in the faculty parking lot of the high school.

Kevin rolls his eyes and climbs out of his car, tired of hearing his boyfriend complain since he did so the entire way here. His buzz is already wearing off and he doesn’t feel any better about all of this than Neil does, wanting it to be over with already. Especially after Neil mentioned Andrew’s question about Drake potentially being there as well since it’s being hosted by the high school he works at. There are so many different ways this could go wrong and he doesn’t want to think about that either.

“We are ‘affiliated with the police’, at least the kids will be more interested in an officer’s gun and badge. The attention won’t really be on us, so we’ll just answer a few questions and not start any fights, _right babe_?” Kevin stops Neil from storming ahead and rechecks to make sure he’s presentable enough for his father’s approval, Neil scowling the entire time.

“Can’t make any promises, _baby_.”

Kevin just sighs at that and stops fussing over Neil to grab his messenger bag for case research from the backseat. His camera and their notebooks, laptop and a few other items for when they manage to collect evidence legally are carefully organized inside. Neil is standing off to the side, arms crossed in a pout and despite how upset he looks, Kevin finds him adorable. Even though he knows Neil is mad at him, for numerous reasons. Especially his drinking.

“Ready?”

Neil huffs and heads toward the school, but Kevin grabs his hand to pull him back. Neil comes easily but doesn’t look at him, so Kevin puts a finger under his chin to tilt his head up.  Their eyes still don’t meet.

“Hey,” Kevin says softly and piercing blue eyes lock onto his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

Neil’s annoyed gaze wavers and Kevin offers an apologetic smile, making Neil sigh and shake his head before pushing him away but not let go of his hand. Kevin releases the breath he was holding, knowing they’ll talk later, and squeezes his hand before dropping it to head inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to fuzzballsheltiepants for betaing as always!
> 
> Thanks to foxsoulcourt for another collage!
> 
> And thanks to IKnowWhoYouAre_Damianos for the business card!
> 
> <3

                                        

“Good, you’re on time,” Chief David Wymack comments, surprise in his gruff voice as he scans Kevin and Neil.

“Of course, sir,” Kevin pulls on his public smile, tugging his boyfriend along by his sleeve. Their table is beside the police department’s, as his father had planned.  It looks quite boring in comparison with the PD’s banner and pictures, fliers and other ‘swag’. He watches Neil plop down in the lone chair behind their bare table, looking bored as ever. “Presentable?”

Wymack stares at Neil, who flashes him his mischievous smile, making his father roll his eyes. “ _Enough_. Don’t cause trouble today.”

“Cause trouble? Us? _Never_ , Chief.”

“No, just _you_ , maggot.” Wymack’s comment makes Neil grin and one of the two officers at the booth look up in surprise. He must be new, Kevin doesn’t recognize him.

Kevin sighs and offers them an amped up version of his public smile before setting his bag on the table beside the school’s flimsy paper sign ‘Day & Josten’ for Neil to unload. Officer Miles, according to his name tag, glances between Kevin and Neil and Wymack, then begins whispering to Officer Thompson, a man who supports their careers as freelance investigators. Kevin thinks Neil has rubbed off on him too much because whatever Thompson tells Miles makes Miles’ head snap back to them in surprise and awe and makes Kevin feel delightfully smug about it.

“How long is this event?” Neil asks, haphazardly spilling the business cards they splurged on around the table. He plugs their laptop in and sets the camera gently beside it.

                                                          

“Three hours.” Kevin watches Neil’s face scrunch up in disgust and sighs. “ _We can get smoothies on the way home, just don’t be rude to the kids? They’re sensitive, they’re not like us_.”

Neil gives him a bored look, eyebrow raised. “ _Kev, you are definitely sensitive_.”

Kevin rolls his eyes. “ _Don’t start_.” Neil just sticks his tongue out and continues making an organized mess of their table. Kevin doesn’t stop him; he learned a long time ago that it’s better to just let Neil do as he wishes, as long as it’s nothing too drastic, just to keep him busy. Busy and happy— well, happier. If they didn’t have a guest at their apartment, a case in progress (thanks to said guest), and no doubt some impending “discussion” about Kevin’s habits when they get home, he’d make it up to him by ravishing him for the rest of the night. They’ll make due, they always have.

However, as the starting time for the career fair approaches, more business representatives showing up, he didn’t expect to see Neil’s annoyed posture become rigid and it puts Kevin on full alert. Kevin knows better than to turn to face where Neil is staring, and simply continues sorting through camera memory cards. He glances over to where his father is, intimidating at six-foot-one, broad build and wearing one of his work suits with his badge and gun on his hip— and every bit as rigid as Neil.

Then he sees him, _their target_ , smiling as he steps up to the PD’s booth and greet Officer Thompson and Miles loudly. When his father excuses himself, phone to his ear, he knows something is up. Kevin looks to Neil, posture forcibly relaxed and ‘busy’ with their laptop, but Kevin can tell he’s still watching. He slips Drake’s memory card into the camera and presses record, filming Drake as he talks to the officers. There’s too much swagger in his posture, too much unearned pride in the way he sports his excessively tight green service uniform.  It’s unbecoming for a Marine in his thirties who works at a high school. Kevin glances down at the other military recruiters, all pristinely fitted in their spotless uniforms. One of them is watching Drake, a poorly-disguised look of irritation on his face.

Kevin sets the camera down on the corner of the table, angled at them as Drake gestures with his heavily tattooed arms while chatting with the officers. Neil corrects it slightly without looking and Kevin chooses to lean over Neil and look at the news article he has pulled up. Thankfully, squeezing the curve of Neil's shoulder under his hand helps him actually relax, even though they are both on edge, listening to Drake brag about his students and how fast the freshmen are learning.

Miles comments about not stealing all of the good kids from the police department and Drake just laughs. Thompson starts telling a story about some of the kids they’ve encouraged to go to the academy and halfway through, Drake excuses himself with something about checking on his student volunteers. Kevin looks up as he walks past and Drake notices, grinning widely. It doesn’t reach his eyes, but Kevin nods politely anyway.

“ _He’s a bit of a sociopath, we’ve dealt with a couple, remember?_ **_He_ ** _was one_.” Neil turns to look up at him, making Kevin frown at the intense gleam in his eyes. He’s reminded that Neil really will do what it takes to complete a job and though it might have left a few scars on the both of them, Neil did not even flinch as he held a thrashing, screaming Riko down while Kevin… He nods at Neil, squeezing his shoulder once more and stands up straight, just as his father returns to his booth.

Kevin gives it a minute, letting Wymack check in with his officers and when he steps back, Kevin stands beside him. “Why’d you walk away when that guy showed up?” He asks quietly. “You didn’t get a call— you never turn your ringer off.”

Wymack grunts and looks at Kevin. “There’s something off about that man, not quite sure what, but I don’t trust him in the slightest.” Kevin doesn’t reply and swallows thickly when Wymack’s eyes narrow. “What do you know?”

Of course, he’s only been calling the Chief of Police his father for the last six and a half years, but Wymack knows how to read him, almost as well as Neil.

“Our current case…” Kevin comments vaguely, looking back to Neil and finds the chair empty. “ _Shit_ ,” he swears in French and looks back at Wymack, he looks angry. “Did you see where-”

“He took off after you came over to me.”

Kevin inhales sharply through his nose and reaches into his pocket for his phone, instead pulling out Neil’s older model flip phone. “God damn it, Neil.”

“He swapped your phones too.” Wymack shrugs at Kevin’s annoyed look. “More surprised you didn’t notice, he does it a lot. What is the nature of your case?”

Kevin shakes his head. “Not here, but our client is a tiny angry blond and currently taking up space in our living room.” He flips open Neil’s phone, finding a text from his own phone ‘ _recon_ ’ and shakes his head. At least he leaves him his phone so they can stay in contact. Neil didn’t always do that, but since they only bother with (see: can regularly afford) one smartphone on their plan and it’s difficult when one of them needs it.

“Well, I expect an explanation, and to not have to arrest Neil. Again. You know I don’t get paid enough to deal with all that paperwork.”

“That was _once_.”

“Twice, actually.” Wymack looks to the end of the row where they spot some teens and their parents looking around. “Alright, get back to your own booth, this place will get crowded pretty quick.” Wymack steps away, nodding to his officers while Kevin perches on the edge of the chair, bouncing his leg before he catches himself and forces himself to stop.

Kevin takes up the camera, turning off the recording and swaps out the memory cards but keeps Drake’s in his pocket, just in case. He decides to watch the students as they mill about, the parents significantly more into this than their kids, who mostly look uninterested. The fair is meant to get them interested in a career, give them an idea of where and how they can achieve it. Kevin is only amused at the fact that most of his job is based on instinct and a keen eye, more than his Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice. His knowledge of the laws hasn’t done much to help them other than knowing which ones they are breaking and how much trouble they can get in if they get caught.

Their saving grace is his father signing them on as affiliated with them and that barely slides _because_ he’s the Chief’s son. Which is why the PD forces them to do these stupid career fairs. Kevin has to crack a smile, remembering Neil’s comment in the car: ‘ _Yes, we’ll set up a booth and lie to a bunch of teens about what we do, when most of our work is illegal and we aren’t the typical ‘private investigator’. I’d like to see their parent’s faces if we told them the truth_.’ Kevin figures it’s just his father’s way of reminding them of what he lets them get away with and wonders what Neil is doing now, instead of being at this table where he belongs.

 

~

 

Neil is able to follow along with the packs of teens easily, pretending to be on Facebook on Kevin’s phone, occasionally toying with his piercings. Teenage girls and boys alike give him the looks that Kevin still does and he feigns shyly tugging on his hair to avoid their interested smiles.

He fits in easily, going to each booth one by one.  Eventually, he finds Drake talking to a couple of parents, a female cadet standing between them. She doesn’t appear to be uncomfortable talking to Drake, even though his excitement does not reach his eyes. Nor does she shrug off the hand on her shoulder as he compliments her. It makes Neil wonder how he acts during classes with his students, how he chooses his victims and if he’s even had any since coming to the school. Curious about this, Neil pulls up Andrew’s contact and texts him.

 

**Kevin** : Has he had any victims that you know of recently? -Neil

**Andrew** : Cass had 6 more foster kids after me. 4 boys. Waiting on Higgins’ paperwork on them.

**Kevin** : Any other time? -Neil

**Andrew** : He still visits her occasionally, but she doesn’t have any kids right now.

**Kevin** : And while he’s been HERE? -Neil

**Andrew** : 1 complaint, took some digging to find it. Went nowhere.

 

Neil is getting frustrated. They’ve already gone over all this the last week. He looks up and sees Drake moving on, shuffling after him slowly. A small commotion from one of the rows draws his attention, a woman holding back a man — her husband— and Neil looks around for a reason for it. Neil didn’t catch what came prior, so he returns to his texts and turns down the same way Drake does.

 

**Andrew** : Male SAVs rarely come forward.

**Kevin** : Especially in the military. -Neil

**Andrew** : Stop signing your name.

**Kevin** : Fine.

**Kevin** : What about his military career?

**Andrew** : You’re hilarious.

**Kevin** : Kev tells me otherwise.

**Andrew** : He likes them young and even if he did succeed in taking advantage of someone beneath him, they would not have stepped forward.

**Andrew** : Too much of a risk.

**Andrew** : Need I remind you for the 4th time that he was very good at covering his tracks?

**Kevin** : He’s gotta make a mistake sometime.

**Andrew** : Then make one for him.

 

Neil swallows the bile threatening to come up and looks around at the students milling about and sees Drake staring right at him. He blinks, trying to play cool and looks back down at his phone, heart pounding in his ears, wondering if Drake knows he’s following him. He _really_ doesn’t want to have to stab someone— even Drake— with all of these kids around. So he just keeps walking and walks past Drake, skin burning as fingers deliberately graze over his arm. He shouldn’t look back, but he does because even though people keep brushing past him. He _knew_ it was Drake who had touched him and forces himself to maintain a neutral expression when he sees Drake smile at him ever so briefly.

Neil knows he can take him, his fingers are even wrapped around his switchblade, burning to gut him right then and there. Instead, he continues on back to Kevin and isn’t at all surprised when his expression shifts from casual annoyance to worry.

“ _I want to hold him down and carve him into tiny pieces_.”

Kevin blanches, his russet skin pale and his green eyes wide as he stares at him. After swallowing a few times Kevin stands and forces him to sit in the only chair, a shaky hand swapping their phones back and Neil stares at the laptop. He’s frozen, his vision tunneling and his blood boiling, rushing in his ears as he doesn’t even stop counting the numerous messy and violent ways to dismember Drake as painfully as possible.

Neil believed Andrew when he told him about what happened, especially how uncomfortable he was bringing up his time in foster care. However, seeing this man in person is a completely different story and for once, Neil wishes he was completely ignorant. That’s selfish; and though his mother would have insisted that he look out for himself, now he feels too involved. The fact his _father_ had taken extra enjoyment in butchering men like Drake just makes him sick and—

“ _Babe, breathe, I need you to breathe._ **_Neil_**.”

Neil blinks a few times, coming back to himself with Kevin in front of him, his fingers latched onto Kevin’s wrist, knuckles white. That’s going to bruise, but Neil is just grateful that even lost in _Nathaniel’s_ head, he could recognize his boyfriend enough to not pull his knife on him. Kevin is still a bit pale, but his beautiful green eyes are so full of concern that it makes Neil’s heart flutter.  He relaxes his grip until Kevin just pries his fingers off and holds on with his other hand. His wrist is red but Kevin doesn’t let him focus on that.

“ _I said breathe, baby_ ,” Kevin’s words make him inhale slowly through his nose and out through his mouth until he can stop shaking. Nathaniel breaching the surface always made him feel _awful_ after the fact. Never during. “ _There you are_.” Neil knows Kevin wants to hold him, to stroke his fingers through his hair to bring him down the rest of the way, but there are too many people around to judge them. It’s different than on the street. They are supposed to be professionals here and he’s already fucked that up, so they should avoid causing any more damage.

“ _Sorry, did I hurt you badly_?” Neil frowns at the darkening circle around his wrist, but Kevin just tugs his sleeve down and squeezes his fingers.

“ _In your own words, ‘I’m fine’, we’ve been rougher in bed_ ,” Kevin cracks a weak smile and Neil just frowns at him. “Neil, we have another hour before Chief Wymack will let us leave, alright?”

Neil gives him a jerky nod and clenches his eyes shut, inhaling sharply before opening them again. He sees Wymack looking over at them, eyes hard and eyebrow raised. He’s concerned; it’s nice because even though it took almost four years to stop being jumpy around Kevin’s father, Neil could always tell that he is an amazing, altruistic man and a great judge of character. Wymack accepted Neil as part of the family almost as easily as he had taken the news of Kevin being his son when he was told that they are together.

For some reason, focusing on this helps him lower his heart rate. Looking at Kevin and Wymack, thinking of Abby, he knows they know of his past and his issues, he doesn’t need to be afraid of them coming to light when in situations like this. It’s okay; it’s been years since he’s had to fear anything about who he used to be and they’re working through it, even if Wymack still acts like they are the bane of his existence.

Neil inhales slowly again, nodding to his boyfriend. “Yeah, it’ll be okay. I’ll live.”

Kevin exhales and nods before standing up properly and they find a small group of teenage girls and one boy, just watching the two of them with these knowing wide eyes. It’s as if they’ve just found an incredible, long lost treasure. Neil almost laughs as Kevin paints on his public smile and lets himself fall into character while Kevin invites them over.

“Interested in what we do as Private Investigators?”

Kevin’s invitation lures them in all too easily, the five of them all smiles and excited questions. They keep looking to Neil, offering shy smiles and flirtatious glances as Kevin answers all of their questions. Neil starts wondering how old they think he, is as all of their questions are directed at Kevin: about the business and what schools and classes he took to become a private investigator. One of the girls bravely asks Neil how old he is and five hopeful faces crumble at learning that he is twenty-six.

Until they look at the business cards reading ‘Day and Josten’ with their shared number and address and start asking _very_ personal questions with leering grins on their faces, eyes gleaming. Suddenly, their careers as PIs are not nearly as interesting as their being a couple (even if they didn’t exactly clarify) Neil finds himself more grateful than anything for the distraction of being bothered by them for the next half hour. He enjoys giving roundabout answers and messing with them.

Eventually, they leave, but two of the girls continue to linger at nearby booths or wander past, smiling at them, as if trying to catch him and Kevin in the act of something ‘coupley.’ It’s quite amusing. For once, Kevin doesn’t seem to be upset with his mischievous behaviour, obviously glad he’s not overly shaken from Nathaniel breaching the surface earlier.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!! GRAPHIC VIOLENCE & TORTURE. ATTEMPTED RAPE.
> 
> Thanks to Fuzzballsheltiepants for betaing as always! Thanks sis!
> 
> Thank you foxsoulcourt for the collage!

                                 

“ _This is dangerous,_ ” Kevin murmurs in French as they clean up their table, as are the rest of those who ran booths at the fair. Neil sighs, nodding to him.

“ _I know, but I don’t know what else to do, other than force him to show his hand, Kev_.”

“ _Don’t do anything too stupid_ ,” Kevin pinches the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. Neil knows how hard it is for him to leave him in the field alone, even knowing he can protect himself.

Wymack had left with his officers a few moments before, giving them suspicious glances and the parting words, “You _know_ my number.” The man has always been perceptive. He should be, given both his career and how well he knows them personally.

“Alright, I’ll see you, Kev,” Neil nods at Kevin as he closes up their work bag, his boyfriend nodding before heading out.

Neil watches him go with a pit in his stomach, shoving his hands into his pockets, one hand gripping his switchblade, the other around his flip phone. For a moment, he questions his own sanity, wondering why he is putting himself in this position and pushes it down. He has a job to do.

While the rest of the attendees and those running the booths clear out, Neil wanders the floor, looking lost. He approaches a man he knows from the last event they were at together and offers him a smile. J. Jonah Jameson runs an online journalism collum (see: gossip) in the paper, he recalls before asking for a lift home.

“I’m in a hurry, Josten,” Jonah declines harshly, as Neil had hoped, dragging his cool gaze up and down his frame. The man was never particularly fond of him since he and Kevin don’t give him personal information on their clients for his stupid blog. That and he has hit on him and Neil simply shot him down, calling him a greedy, unprofessional scumbag. Safe to say, Jonah hates him.

“Well, you should get a move on then, shouldn’t you?”

Jonah rolls his eyes and huffs as he walks away. Neil catches Drake lurking out of the corner of his eye, talking to some of the staff, and walks in his direction, taking a wide berth towards another person. He may be on a mission, but he’d rather avoid the sick fuck for as long as possible as he feigns searching for a lift home. His brow pinches more with the next rejection and how it’s only the last couple of students left who try to offer for their parents to drive him. They offer their apologies, only for them to quickly rescind their child’s offer.

The gymnasium where the event was held is empty as he walks out, removing his tie and tucking it into his back pocket. He makes it outside, wondering if Drake will take the bait since he lost track of him while asking around, and stalls in the parking lot. By the time he ends his call to the third potential ride, all being fake numbers, the doors open and Drake’s voice calls out to him. Snapping his phone shut, he tucks it and his hands in his pockets before turning to him, hand automatically curling around his knife, before he forces himself to outwardly relax.

“Hey! Where’d your partner go?”

Neil stares at Drake approaching him, freshly changed out of his ill-fit uniform into fitted jeans, a ‘nice’ t-shirt and a jacket. He could tell Drake had dressed to show off at the event and is now attempting to impress him, but is missing by a long shot. If he didn’t know of his intentions, he still wouldn’t even want to be near him.

“He had to catch up with a client,” Neil shrugs and cocks his head to the side, dragging his gaze over Drake slowly before meeting his gaze just as he steps up to him. The smile on Drake’s face doesn’t match the near-predatory look in his eyes. Neil’s fingers curl around his switchblade again.

“That’s unfortunate, shitty of him to leave you behind. Can I give you a lift? The name’s Spear, Drake Spear.”

That was easy.

Neil pulls out his cell phone again, flicking it open. “I can call an uber, thanks, you don’t need to go out of your way.”

“Nonsense!” Drake covering his phone with his hand nearly gets himself gutted right there, but Neil fights to remain calm, again. “It’s no trouble, wouldn’t want someone looking like you getting left out here alone.”

Neil stares at him, pulling his hand away and shoves it and his phone back in his pocket. “‘Someone looking like me’?” Neil repeats, voice deadpan and Drake simply laughs and shakes his head.

“Sorry, that was rude, I wouldn’t abandon anyone when I’m perfectly capable of helping them out,” Drake’s hand clapping onto his shoulder engulfs it in a way that makes him internally cringe as it steers him off of the sidewalk, so different from the welcomed weight of Kevin’s. “C’mon, I’m just over here.”

“Well, if it’s no trouble,” Neil hums, giving him a side eye as they walk, corner of his mouth curled. When Drake looks at him again, he glances away quickly to feign embarrassment, making the brute laugh once more. “I’m Neil.” His stomach flips as that hand transfers to his opposite shoulder, effectively being pulled against Drake’s side, but doesn’t fight it.

“Glad to come to your rescue, Neil.”

_I’ll need to burn these clothes after… not exactly a loss…_

Drake asks where he lives once they are inside his pick-up truck, Neil taking in the single bench seat stretched across the front of the cab. He carefully makes note of everything in sight before buckling in. For a brief moment he feels sick when he notices the lock button/mechanism is missing and in order to get out, the door would have to be opened from the outside. He doesn’t comment though, making an attempt at prayer internally while taking Drake’s smartphone to key in the address of a rundown apartment building they use for meetups. When Drake drives away, Drake starts asking him questions, ~~feeling him out~~ . _What did you think of the event? Manage to get any of the students interested in your field? What’s it like being a PI?_ And so on, until—

“I think I remember you from last year, hair was black at the time I think,” Drake turns to him as they reach a stop sign. “I like the red though, is it natural?”

Neil stares at him as Drake boldly tugs on a lock of his hair, managing to force a shy; “Yes.”

_I don’t remember_ **_you_ ** _from the last event_.

It turns Neil’s stomach, honestly not remembering if he’s seen Drake around before...

“No way!” Drake trails his gaze over his chest and briefly stares at his crotch where Neil’s hands are resting before returning his hungry gaze to his. “Makes those gorgeous eyes of yours stand out.”

Nathaniel’s temper flares as Drake returns his focus to driving and Neil bites the inside of his cheek so hard he draws blood.

_Calm down._

“Thank you,” Neil looks out the window. “You missed the turn.” They both glance at his phone and Neil notices the sound is off. A convenient excuse. The map is auto-rerouting.

“Shit!  Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I’m not used to heading to that part of town.” Drake’s laugh is really starting to grate on his nerves. “I must be distracted.” His tone deepens in what Neil assumes is some misguided attempt to entice him.

Even though he’d rather gouge his own eyes out, he takes the bait, smiling at him, wondering if Drake would be able to tell the difference between malice and interest from the glittering in his eyes. “Distracted driving isn’t very safe, Drake.”

“Then stop being so damn gorgeous, Red,” Drake laughs at his own joke. Neil snorts and looks out the window.

They miss the rerouted turn, but he doesn’t say anything this time.

“What’s the, uh, situation with your partner, Red?”

What the hell is his game here?

“We’re partners, we solve crimes together.”

Dear god… that _laugh_. “Like Sherlock Holmes?” Drake smiles at his noncommittal noise. “Right, you’re probably way better than some fictional character.”

Neil thanks him and waits, noting Drake’s fingers tapping on the steering wheel and— _oh_. He’s not playing along the way Drake expected him to… Did he want him to throw himself at him? Because that is _not_ going to happen. Or does he want an innocent, shy plaything he can manhandle? Maybe either of those types work for him, the sick fuck. After all, some...kid...with fragile emotions and poor self-esteem was all too easy to manipulate.

Drake actually follows the map on his phone, heading toward the fake address. Oh, he might be giving up… Neil hates himself for wanting to follow through with this plan.

“Are you usually this bad at hitting on guys?”

Drake doesn’t laugh at his blunt question, instead his mouth curving into a ‘playboy’ smile, if Neil has ever seen one. “Trying to feel you out baby, yo-”

“ _Don’t_ call me baby,” Neil lowers his tone, razor sharp as he stares Drake down.

He swears Drake shivers at his words and yup, he takes a wrong turn.

“You’re a fiery one, I like that. The rumors about redheads are true then.”

“Asshole,” Neil scoffs and Drake’s grin turns predatory as he turns down another road, this one is significantly darker. A back road. Oh fucking _fantastic_. “Where are we?” Neil looks around, taking in everything he can as he feels the truck slow down. His heart rate picks up and looks to Drake when he doesn’t answer. He doesn’t like the way Drake is looking at him as the truck pulls off to the side of the dimly lit road, those eyes of his absolutely predatory.

“Where are we, Drake?” Neil demands with a hand already on his seat belt buckle as he subtly goes for the door instead of his knife, wanting to keep that a secret… for now. Neil keeps his gaze sharp on Drake and unclicks his seat belt when the truck is shifted into park and pulls on the door handle as fruitlessly as he knew it would be. “What th-”

“Come on now, don’t be like that _baby_ ,” Drake taunts him as he removes his own seatbelt. “Where do you think you’re going to go?”

“I’m _leaving_ , let me out!” Of course he’d like the chase, _insane piece of shit_. Neil can’t help but growl at him and only succeeds in making Drake laugh which pisses _Nathaniel_ off. “Get off!” Neil kicks out reflexively; Drake grabs his ankle so tightly it makes him cry out.  With a vicious laugh, Drake yanks Neil towards him. Neil’s head rebounds off the window, hard enough to make him see stars.

“Such a spitfire!”

“G-Get off!” Drake grabs Neil's throat with one hand, choking off the words; the other pins Neil's right arm to the seat. Neil swings with his left, barely grazing Drake's face, unable to put much power behind it. He starts to thrash against Drake's heavy body. "A-asshole," he wheezes out, desperate for breath.

“Oh am I going to have fun with you.”

Neil’s vision is darkening around the edges as Drake squeezes his throat, Drake’s face twisted with psychotic excitement. Drake’s done this before, with men and boys larger than Neil, and has easily won. Remembering that only makes Neil struggle harder. Drake snarls when Neil’s nails claw his face, and Neil would laugh if he weren’t being choked.

Neil grunts as his head snaps to the side, pain exploding in his left temple, and then he’s coughing uncontrollably at the sudden release of his throat. Distantly he registers warmth dripping down the side of his face, hissing between coughs as his hair is fisted, Drake’s angry red face in his.

“Fuck you,” Neil coughs, using his left forearm to weakly push him back. It does nothing to stop Drake in his enraged state, only spurring him on.

“No, I’m going to fuck you!” Drake slams his head against the door, hard, and stars once again flood his vision. He’s so weak...

“That’s better…”

Neil’s limbs feel so heavy as Drake releases his hold, Neil’s arms falling limply at his sides. Blinking up at Drake, he can’t help but laugh at the bloody claw marks on his face.

“Can’t— ” Neil wheezes. “Can’t get laid wi-without beating the shit outta someone?” Drake growls and gets in his face, snarling something at him with that sick smile on his face again.

Fuck, his head hurts; everything is muffled, but Nathaniel laughs in Drake’s face as Drake rips open the dress shirt and stares at the tapestry of scars. Nathaniel can see Drake’s lips moving, but he can’t hear any words.

“Don’t like what y-you see?” Nathaniel sneers and Drake digs his fingers into his bullet hole scar, making him wince.

“—that mouth of yours got you into trouble.” The world snaps back into focus and Drake looks way too happy with himself, dragging blunt fingernails over his chest. It’s the distraction Nathaniel needs.

“Sorry, no returns or refunds.”

“Shut up!” Drake covers his mouth with his hand and his rage merges into confusion when Nathaniel just laughs. “Shut up! Why are you laughing!?”

Nathaniel offers up his father’s smile when Drake removes his hand to let him speak, successfully shocking the man for a second time.

“You forgot to watch the hands,” Nathaniel’s smile widens and flicks open his switchblade, plunging it into Drake’s right thigh with his left hand.

“FUCK!” Drake shrieks and then again when Nathaniel twists it. Nathaniel regains enough strength in his right arm to slam his fingers into his throat. Drake chokes, jerking himself back against the driver’s side door; Nathaniel slips his legs out from his weight, sitting upright despite how dizzy it makes him.

“Y-yo— ” Drake reaches out to Nathaniel, only to scream and thrash as the knife in his thigh is ripped out, blood gushing from the wound.

“Who’s the bitch now?” Nathaniel laughs as he bats away Drake’s arm, and headbutts him hard enough that Drake’s head bounces off the window like Neil’s had, cracking the glass. Nathaniel’s head is pounding all that much more from the impact, but he can’t help but laugh as Drake struggles to stay upright, only to slump forward.

“Oh, _boring_ ,” Nathaniel glowers at the man, unfortunately still breathing and slumped against the steering wheel of the truck. The pain in his head slams full force, making him feel dizzy and realize he needs to get moving. He almost goes for Neil's neck tie, but instead checks the small space behind the seats and surprise surprise, he finds a large package of zip ties.

Nathaniel growls despite his aching throat and sets to restraining Drake with as many zip ties as he can, securing Drake’s arms to the steering wheel and links a few to secure his ankles as well. Once satisfied, Nathaniel sees the still oozing stab wound and sneers. He should let him die, but… instead Nathaniel uses Neil’s tie as a pressure bandage over the stab wound and slows the bleeding.

“I should just let you die, scumbag,” Nathaniel retrieves his phone and searches for a number, listening to Drake’s laboured breathing as it rings.

“ _Josten_?”

Nathaniel’s hold wavers and Neil grins at the sound of a familiar voice. “Seth!”

“ _What did you do now? Where’s Day?_ ”

“Why do you always think _I_ did something?” Neil scowls and looks at Drake as he stirs for a second, then slumps back against the steering wheel. When Neil’s satisfied he isn’t about to move again, he grabs Drake’s smartphone from the floor where it got kicked off its stand.

“ _Because you’re always causing trouble_.”

“Can you be Officer Gordon for five seconds and not Dickbag Gordon?” He rolls his eyes at his annoyed insults and gets the exact gps location. “Shut up! Kev’s already going to yell at me…” Neil coughs, his throat not having anymore of his yelling and Seth quiets down. “I have a pedo here for you to arrest, but only for assault and attempted rape of an adult.”

“ _...Against who_?”

“Me.”

Neil holds the phone away from his face as Seth flips out again, not caring for what he has to say. When he slows down he returns it to his ear and tells him the street name and the make and model of the truck. “Let Kev know where I am, need to make sure fuckface doesn’t bleed out on me.”

“ _Josten!_ ”

Neil hangs up and looks at Drake, already trying to pick his head up again and Nathaniel’s smile stretches across his face. Nathaniel picks up his knife and stabs the blade into the seat cushion, twisting it to clean it off of the lingering blood. When he inspects the blade he frowns at the specks of dried blood on it.

“Haven’t had to use this in a while - now you’ve fucked it up.” Drake moans and Nathaniel huffs, shoving Drake back by his throat and grins when the ‘gentler’ force manages to wake him up. “Wake up sleepy head.” Nathaniel smiles brilliantly despite his injuries, watching Drake’s vision clear and recognition floods his face.

“You— ”

Nathaniel presses the knife against his lips, shutting him up. “Ah-ah, shhh, this is the time for listening.” He drags the blade down his trembling jaw and chuckles quietly. “We’re going to learn about consent and why touching children is bad.”

“I don’t tou- FUCK!” Drake sobs as Nathaniel stabs his knife into his shoulder, his face never shifting from his smiling expression.

“I. Said. Listen!” Nathaniel twists and hears a snap when the blade breaks off inside of his shoulder and just _laughs_. The way Drake cringes away from him makes Nathaniel laugh harder because if this isn’t ironic? “God I am going to have fun with you,” Nathaniel mocks, his thumb pressing against the wound and making Drake cry out. “You owe me a new knife.”

Panting, Drake stares, his fingers are trembling where they're dangling near the steering wheel.

Nathaniel drops the now useless hilt of his knife and digs his thumb into the wound, making Drake howl and thrash. “Oh what a _spitfire_ ,” he taunts again. “This will be a simple lesson, asshole, but I’ll draw it out as long as I want to,” he presses against the embedded blade, more for his own enjoyment than Drake’s pain.

“Rule number one… Children _cannot_ consent.” Nathaniel uses his fingers, soaked in Drake’s blood to twist the knife deeper as he talks, Drake grunting in pain, struggling against his bindings. Nathaniel only has to keep him back with his hand to his chest and fingers in his oozing shoulder wound, talking until flashing red and blue lights appear in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Drake, you finally got what you deserved.
> 
> Well... almost. >:]


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SETH LIVES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: this is one of my top favorite chapters in the entire story.
> 
> Thanks as always to fuzzballsheltiepants who betaed this fic! Keeps me motivated and goes waaaay out of her way to help. Love you, sis!
> 
> Thank you again to Foxsoulcourt for the collage! They are so neat!

                           

Kevin speeds home, vibrating from nerves knowing that Neil is most certainly walking into an absolute nightmare. He’d texted Andrew that Neil was doing something stupid, only to receive orders to pick him up from the apartment. As he pulls up to the building, he spots Andrew on the curb, absent is his typically bored expression.

“Move,” Andrew grunts after yanking the driver’s side door open, his no-nonsense tone making Kevin scramble to comply.

Once in the passenger seat, Andrew behind the wheel, Kevin is confused when they don’t pull away. Kevin frowns as Andrew instead lights up a cigarette with shaking fingers. He looks at his phone, hoping for a call from Neil. A good one, that he’s okay and—

“Calm down,” Andrew clamps his hand around the back of his neck and Kevin inhales sharply when forced to look at him. “Breathe out.” Kevin forces the air from his lungs. “In, slowly.”

Kevin obeys once again, slowly sucking in air as Andrew counts to three, then holds it for another count of three and exhales for a final count of three. Andrew repeating the cycle with his cigarette still lit between his lips. Kevin focuses on his intense expression and following his commands until his pulse slows.

“Thanks…”

Andrew just nods and releases his neck, taking his cigarette from his mouth and exhales a plume of smoke. Kevin wrinkles his nose at that.

“In my car? Really?”

Andrew rolls his eyes and adjusts the seat, buckling himself in. “What stupid thing is he doing?”

Kevin swallows thickly, debating if he should tell Andrew now that he’s pulled away from the curb. Wondering where they are going with no set destination. At least not to the destination that has Neil in it. After glancing at his phone he inhales carefully, almost laughing at how the scent of cigarettes reminds him of Neil, as it calms _Neil_ down. It’s like having Neil here with him. He’s forgotten how dependent he is on his partner. His stupid, irresponsible, idiotic, reckless partner.

“He told me he’s going to ‘force his hand’, ‘make a mistake for him’.” Kevin’s eyes widen as Andrew punches the steering wheel, hazel eyes narrowed.

“That fucking idiot!” Andrew growls. Kevin hasn’t seen the man so expressive in the short time they’ve known him. “He’s going to— ” he cuts himself off, but Kevin knows what he was going to say anyway. Their client-turned-house-guest… is concerned.

“He’ll be fine, he’s always… fine,” Kevin finds himself reassuring Andrew more than himself. It’s quite selfish of him, he realizes, that he is— was— worrying about what _he’d_ do without Neil, while Andrew is just worried about _Neil_. It may have been for a split second, but he was only thinking of himself...

“You’ve seen what that fucker looks like, he’ll crush him,” Andrew grunts, crushing his cigarette into the unused ashtray. He instantly turns his glare on Kevin when he chokes on a laugh.

“I— you know we’ve dealt with his type before, right? He told you…” Andrew nods curtly. “About my adoptive family, mainly my brother Riko?” When Andrew glances at him with a nod, still focusing on driving along a straight-away, he swallows the bile down.

“Some of it.”

“He held him down while I… cut off his junk,” Kevin grimaces. “While he told me the most painful way to do it.”

“Okay…” Andrew is either not catching on, or he wants him to say it.

Kevin can’t, he can’t…

“So he was the son of a serial killer, big whoop.”

“And the British mob,” Kevin laughs dryly at Andrew’s side-glance. “Neil wasn’t always— ”

“I know, he legally changed his name and all that bullshit. His record is sealed from when he was sixteen-seventeen. Psycho dad is dead and whatever. Doesn’t explain why you’re mentioning any of this, Day.”

Kevin outright whimpers, staring at his phone, longingly. “I’m more worried about what Nathaniel will do to Drake, than of what Drake will do to Neil. What Nathaniel will do to Neil… if he loses himself.” Kevin looks to Andrew, not surprised by the pinch in his brow, confusion in his eyes. “Nathaniel was the son of and apprentice to Nathan Wesninski, the Butcher of Baltimore. He got out because of his mother’s brother ‘rescuing’ him, unfortunately, it was too late for his mum and…”

“This uncle of his wiped his record, changed his name,” Andrew provides. Kevin nods. “So you can change all that, but you can’t change what you really are.” Kevin looks up again when Andrew laughs under his breath. “Guess we’re both monsters.”

Kevin frowns; he just doesn’t understand. Why would he find that funny? “I don't… Neil isn't a ‘monster'.” Again, Andrew laughs and Kevin's frown deepens. “Andrew— ” Kevin is cut off by Andrew's sharp eyes, burning with an intensity he only sees in Neil and he nearly chokes. “You're going to go off the road!” Kevin yelps as Andrew yanks Kevin's car back into the correct lane and stares at the side of his face, watching his jaw clench.

“Even if we have monsters inside us, it's not what defines us.”

Kevin tilts his head, hoping for Andrew to elaborate, only to start when his phone rings and freezes at the name on the screen.

Andrew's hand grips the back of his neck again and Kevin sucks in air, slower this time, before answering the call.

“Boyd.” Kevin's voice trembles with anticipation. “ _Matt_ , what— ”

“ _Hey, Kev, my partner called and he's picking up Neil. He's okay._ ”

Kevin slumps against the seat, looking at Andrew as he squeezes his neck, Matt explaining that he was attacked as he expected and that Neil wants him.

“ _Well, Seth actually said: ‘Get Day here to pick up his fucking dumbass boyfriend’_ ,” Matt makes a pained noise. “ _Is this one of your cases_?”

“Yeah, it is. Where?”

Matt sends the location to his phone seconds later and Kevin sighs, recognizing the area where Drake had taken Neil. It's pretty close to the apartment building that they lure targets to, for interrogations and traps. He shows it to Andrew and instantly, Andrew jerks the car, making a highly illegal U-turn to change directions. Kevin is beyond glad he's on top of this.

“Thanks, Matt.”

“ _I'll see you at the station! Let me know how Neil is!_ ”

When the call ends, Kevin tries practicing the breathing techniques Andrew had ran him through, he's unsuccessful. Andrew once again reaches out and this time, Kevin just stares at his phone, watching the minutes tick away as Andrew speeds down the road with one hand on the wheel and the other on Kevin's neck. It's holding him together in a different way than Neil ever has. Neil pieces things back together, sometimes carefully with gentle, reassuring hands. Other times he just barrels in, no plan, just passion, a one-man army who has everything and nothing to lose, prepared to risk it all just because Kevin was hurt. Everyone thinks Neil to be the victim, too helpless to back up that smart mouth of his. Delicate. It’s almost laughable. Sure Neil needs to be fixed up after a nasty fight —Kevin yells at him every time— but it's _Kevin_ who needs to be taken care of.

“Kevin.”

He blinks, realizing he'd been staring at Andrew and is met with those intense hazel eyes, promising pain to anyone who crosses him despite his impassive expression. Able to be strong despite going through what he asked them to help him with. Kevin doesn't know much about Andrew yet, but he's the first person since Neil to get him to calm down so quickly in years. The breath is knocked out of him like a blow to the gut as he thinks about how there is something in the way Andrew is looking at him. It’s the same way he was watching Neil. That same look—  that something almost like longing in his eyes and- Kevin slams the brakes on this line of thought when he realizes he _likes_ that.

“ _Kevin_ ,” Andrew shakes him by his grip on his neck and realizes where they are. They've stopped at the location Matt had sent him, flashing red and blue lighting up the darkness.

“Neil!”

 

~

 

Andrew watches Kevin's eyes widen, almost comically so, and then the P.I. is scrambling out of the car, past the ambulance and toward a police cruiser where a man in uniform is arguing with someone. When Kevin doesn't start looking for Neil, instead he begins bickering with the person sitting in the open cruiser, he is even more confused.  Frowning, Andrew gets out of the car and looks to the ambulance briefly, one of the paramedics is outside with an armored expression on her face, sorting through a med kit.

He'd honestly expected _Neil_ to be the one in the ambulance, despite Kevin's words about ‘Nathaniel’ or whatever. It's not that he doesn't believe Kevin or Neil— but someone putting Drake in an ambulance is a childish fever dream.

Until he walks past the ambulance and sees him, handcuffed to the stretcher as the paramedic handles a rather nasty stab wound in his shoulder, Drake holding an ice pack to his face with his other hand. There are numerous bruises on his bare chest, a bandage around his right thigh and scratches on his face. The paramedic says something to Drake, the man barely winces but he looks up and directly at Andrew. Recognition flickers through Drake's face briefly, before he squeezes his eyes shut in pain.

Andrew thought he'd rush forward in a blind rage, knives drawn and ready to finally take down his childhood nightmare. Instead, a wave of nausea washes over him. The weakness in his legs barely allows him to carry himself over to the side of the road where he empties his stomach. Andrew doesn't whimper or cry while gripping the tail light of the vehicle he came up to, just hunches over, holding his stomach.

Eventually, his stomach empty, his breathing evens out and he's left with a sour taste in his mouth. He wipes the back of his hand across it as he stands up. There is another officer up in the front of the vehicle, an older model truck, collecting evidence from inside. Andrew frowns as he gets closer, ignoring what has been gathered, instead he stares at the blood splatter on the driver side door and on the driver seat. The bloody mess that is Drake in the ambulance prevents him from worrying about Neil, but…

Andrew's feet carry him over to where Kevin is no longer bickering, but fawning over the person inside who can only be Neil. The police officer glances at Andrew as he comes over, but doesn’t say anything, just eyeing him as he steps into the couple’s line of sight.

“Andrew!”

Neil grins at him, Kevin holding an ice pack to Neil’s left temple, dark bruises around his throat and only a little bit of blood on his skin that had been wiped off. Andrew is momentarily stuck on Neil’s torso, covered in _numerous_ old scars and the officer’s uniform jacket. Neil’s pupils are dilated and when he stands, he wobbles, batting away the ice pack covering a gash over his eyebrow as he stumbles over to Andrew. Andrew nods at the question that’s somehow in those eyes as he hesitantly reaches out and lets a grinning Neil grab his shoulder.

“ _He cried like a little bitch_ ,” Neil— no, _not_ \- _Neil—_ laughs at him. It's a hateful sound he hasn't heard from  _Neil_  before. Andrew is trying to decide if he should focus on the fact Neil is speaking German or that he doesn’t sound like himself first. But—  “ _He’ll never hurt anyone again_ ,” he promises and suddenly Andrew has Neil back. High as a kite, but he’s Neil.

“ _Yeah_.” Andrew manages to nod.

“C’mon Josten, sit!”

Neil pouts and Andrew looks to the officer S. Gordon— who had called out to Neil, noting the concern in his gaze despite his annoyed expression. He doesn’t appear phased by Neil’s scars as he pushes Neil back by a hand on his chest, Neil glaring up at him even as he allows him to force him back into the cruiser where Kevin resumes fawning over him. A paramedic comes over with a medkit in hand and a smile on her face.

“Hey Neil, can I fix you up?”

“Robin! Of course you can my darling!”

Andrew stares at Neil, who has evidently been dosed with something before he and Kevin arrived.  This version of him is very… interesting around the people he knows. Neil lets Robin in, her gloved hands inspecting his face as Kevin holds his hand. Andrew knows it’s for Kevin’s comfort, rather than Neil’s. Robin talks to Neil concisely, preparing sutures to close that gash on his brow. Andrew finds himself looking back to the ambulance where Drake looks like a train wreck compared to Neil’s more… manageable injuries.

“Friends of yours?”

Andrew looks up at officer Gordon, noting his clenched jaw, the way his still-concerned eyes are locked on the couple. It’s interesting: the way he crosses his arms makes Andrew believe he’s trying to hide his track marks. Instead of commenting on it he looks back to the couple, Neil grinning at Kevin’s commentary, not at all phased by Robin suturing his brow. Andrew still can’t comprehend how that gash and his bruised throat are his only severe injuries.

“I hired them.”

Officer Gordon huffs. “You’re the reason Josten— ” Gordon cuts himself off, growling. Kind of unprofessional for a cop, in his opinion. Still, Andrew isn’t surprised nor phased. “At least I know Boyd’s going to have a field day.”

Andrew’s brow pinches while he watches Officer Gordon walk away, and chooses to focus on the couple when Neil makes a comment about Kevin’s eyes. He’s immediately amused when Neil begins describing them in detail to a flushed Kevin, Robin having to coax him to hold still while she completes the final suture.

“But Robin! They are like green diamonds!”

“Emeralds,” Andrew provides, unsure why he spoke up, until Neil looks at him with his wide, drugged up eyes. Kevin’s face is flushed even more. “Emeralds are green.”

“Right!” Neil gasps and grabs Kevin’s face. “ _Emeralds_.”

Kevin ends up laughing and Andrew’s nausea seeps away finally, not giving in to the need to look back at the ambulance at all, even when Robin finishes up, gives instructions for Neil’s obvious concussion and leaves to transport Drake. The officer who’d been gathering evidence is now talking to a man to tow Drake’s truck. Andrew looks to Officer Gordon, holding a tablet as he returns to the couple.

“I already know you two ain’t comin’ to the station to finish this up, so I need all the details.”

“He bashed my head into the door, choked me and shit, so I carved him up a little.”

Officer Gordon looks disturbed, Kevin trying to cover his partner's mouth, but once more, that’s not Neil, grinning up at Gordon, a wicked glint in his eyes.

“I wouldn’t call what _Nathaniel_ did to that psycho a ‘little’ anything,” Gordon grumbles.

Andrew wonders why this man knows about _Nathaniel_. He recalls that Chief David Wymack is Kevin’s father and that they work with each other. Judging by how familiarly they act, Gordon knows them personally. It’s just then he notices Gordon’s bruised knuckles, clutching the tablet in his hands. The side of Drake’s face had been sporting a rather wide bruise, that if Neil had hit him twice, it would have made sense but only if he lined them up perfectly. Gordon’s hands are wider. Just about the perfect size.

“Fuck off Seth!” Neil hisses, letting Kevin draw him into his arms and glares at ‘Seth’ from where he’s held against Kevin’s chest. “He got what he deserved!”

“Not yet he hasn’t,” Seth snarls and Andrew’s eyebrows lift at his words. They _definitely_ know each other personally. Sure there are crooked cops, but most won’t be so obvious about it.

“Seth…”

Andrew looks to Kevin, his eyes troubled, petting over Neil’s messier than usual hair as he stares up at Seth. Kevin is so much more subdued than normal. It’s so weird. But Seth just sighs and nods, tapping away on the touch screen on his tablet before nodding.

“Come in tomorrow morning, alright?”

Kevin concedes and pulls Neil to his feet, fingers skimming his bandaged head wound before he’s pushing off Seth’s uniform jacket. The blanket that had been in Neil’s lap is ready to replace Seth’s jacket. Andrew blinks and is pulling off his own leather jacket, holding it out for Neil to wear. Kevin stares at it, then his eyes sharpen with understanding before he returns his attention to Neil in removing Seth’s jacket and helps him into Andrew’s. Neil is staring at Andrew, his lips curled into a small smile, icy blue eyes glittering. Andrew simply grabs Seth's jacket from Kevin and thrusts it at the officer and begins walking away.

“Let’s go, don’t bleed all over my car.”

Neil laughs. Kevin grunts. “It’s _my_ car.”

True, but— “You gave me the keys.”

“Hey— ”

“ _Let’s go_ ,” Andrew turns to shoot them a look, faintly registering Seth snickering. Kevin curses under his breath and Neil teases him in French. They make it past the ambulance Drake is in, the paramedics preparing to head off and realizes he’s stopped. Staring after it when it drives away.

“You okay?”

Andrew manages not to jolt and nods at Kevin, turning to back to the car. Kevin pulls out a dark, long-sleeved shirt from the trunk for Neil to slip into and Andrew tells Neil to keep his jacket until they get back. After they are in the car, Andrew in the driver’s seat, the couple in the back, Andrew has to take a moment. He tries to let it sink it. Neil forced Drake’s hand and got him caught, he’s definitely going to jail, especially after what he did to Neil… and with Neil’s apparent connections, but…

“Fucking martyr.” He looks into the rearview mirror.

Neil bursts out laughing, only to whine when something hurts and Kevin sighs, holding him to his chest, petting his hair. Andrew takes another look at Drake’s truck, being loaded onto the tow truck and frowns. He wants to _feel_ something about this: glad Drake is arrested, that he’s never going to hurt someone again, that Neil did so much fucking damage but… right now? He doesn’t feel anything and it’s confusing.

“ _Call your therapist later_ ,” Neil murmurs in German. Andrew glances at the mirror, finding Neil curled into Kevin, _in his lap_ , forehead to Kevin’s neck with his hooded eyes on Andrew.

“ _How’d you know I speak German_?”

“ _Researched you too_ ,” Neil yawns. “ _Cool that you protected your cousin._ ”

Andrew grunts, slamming the car into reverse and exits the crime scene, intending to head back to their apartment. He freezes at that thought. It’s Kevin and Neil’s apartment, not— He shakes his head before pulling out his cigarettes and lights up despite Kevin’s disapproval, sighing internally at the relief the nicotine gives him. It’s what helps him get to the apartment building and follow the couple up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me in the comments how you think this will end!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to fuzzballsheltiepants for betaing and helping me throughout this amazing fic! It came out amazing and I am SO fucking proud of it!
> 
> Thank you to foxsoulcourt who made collages for each of the chapters!
> 
> Thank you to IKnowWhoYouAre_Damianos for the business card I asked for on a whim!
> 
> And last but not least! Thanks to Atlas (mr-im-fine) who was the artist I worked with for this project! His art style is so cute and I had so much fun working with his prompt! Glad we made something awesome together!
> 
> ~
> 
> Now, I present, the conclusion!

                                                  

Andrew watches Neil and Kevin stumble into the apartment. Neil passes Andrew back his jacket with murmured thanks and kicks off his shoes. Kevin barely manages to yank off his tie before the two of them collapse onto their mustard yellow couch, Kevin on his back with Neil on top of him. He stares at the couple for a moment and ignores the weight in his chest. Instead, he heads into the kitchen, grabbing the electric kettle the Brit in Neil insists upon apparently and sets it to boil water for tea.

Andrew looks back at the couple, seeing Kevin stroke his hand over Neil’s back, his lips moving, but he can tell he’s not saying anything of importance, just trying to comfort his lover. Neil’s face is relaxed, smiling faintly despite the darkening bruises on his skin, _still breathing_. Andrew has to pull away, collecting three mugs and then the honey and tea before he can get too distracted by them.

He hands the mugs off, standing with his own in his hands, watching the couple sit up so they could drink without choking. Kevin is tucked into the corner of the couch, Neil in his lap, eyes closed as he alternates between sipping tea and pressing his forehead to Kevin’s neck. Andrew tucks himself in the opposite corner of the couch and just stares at them.  He doesn’t stop when they catch him, their tiny smiles making his heart attempt to leap from his chest.

When he abandons his empty cup on the floor, Andrew retreats for a long shower, trying to collect his thoughts. He fails. He should feel something over this, shouldn't he? But he can't even feel the heat of the water, nor the cloth scouring his skin. It isn't until he's huddled in the corner of the tiny bathroom, wedged between the sink and the wall, that he hears Bee's voice and realizes he must have called her.

“ _Andrew?_ ”

…

“ _Andrew, are you alright?_ ”

“He’s… he’s been arrested.” Andrew confesses, realizing there are hot tears on his face and teeth digging into his bottom lip.

“ _Talk to me, Andrew, what are you feeling?_ ”

Andrew takes a shuddering breath, and then another, two more until he can speak. Only then does he let loose the story he’s been harboring, explaining to Bee everything that’s happened, how he got there with the two far too attractive people he aligned with.

 

\---

 

The next couple of days whip by quicker than Andrew thought they would. He goes with the couple to the station, meeting Kevin’s father, Chief Wymack. Chief Wymack and his officers, specifically Matt Boyd and Seth Gordon who work closely with the couple, they make it easy to give his statement. He is thankful for this, even if he doesn’t express it outwardly. He was already numb, his words shakier than he would have liked, but they don’t make him feel weak. Seth is no longer outraged for him being partially responsible for Neil being hurt, at least not outwardly.  No; he makes sullen comments about the troublemaker being notorious for getting in (and out of) these situations. Matt is so concerned, not only for Neil but _Andrew_ as well, and it throws him for a loop. His head is spinning; he doesn't know what to make of these cops, their attentiveness, the random cups of hot chocolate that keep appearing at his elbow courtesy of Matt. It's strange and oddly calming all at the same time. Chief Wymack didn’t offer his condolences or pity, but a phone number and an invite to help out in the future once all is said and done.  

Officer Higgins had been nice and plenty trustworthy when Andrew had started working toward putting Drake behind him years ago, but these people have dealt with Neil and Kevin constantly, so they know how to respond and manage to make it work when responding to Andrew. Andrew wonders why and how they understand, but after seeing Neil’s scars, he doesn’t think on it for long.

He’s told to stick around for the case when Neil mentions the couple he had seen at the career fair, who turned out to be the parents of a fifteen-year-old boy that Drake had manipulated and taken advantage of. Turns out that after Drake’s arrest was posted in the paper and online, several more people came forward, some adults from across the country and a couple of parents for their sons in the area. Andrew stays, telling his firm back at home he won’t be back for longer than he expected, that he's dealing with a personal problem. However, even after Drake is reported dead on the third day after his arrest, staying in Gen Pop, he finds that he just can’t bring himself to leave…

“We could use a lawyer, you know,” Neil offers him a grin, his ugly bruises doing nothing to detract from his beauty. Andrew hates that he can no longer ignore it.

“Might be nice to have a wild card…” Kevin comments, scrolling through his phone. 

Andrew has to stare for a moment.

“We have the space, if you want.”

Andrew looks to Neil again, swallowing thickly, and then again when he looks to Kevin, finding hope shining in those gorgeous, emerald green eyes.

“Why?”

“We like you.” Neil’s stitches stretch in his brow as he uses his whole face to smile at him. “And you’re smart. Do what it takes.”

Andrew ignores how warmth spreads through his veins at Neil using his own words against him.

“Also, Neil might need a lawyer if he keeps causing trouble during cases.” 

“Oh fuck off!” Neil hisses as Kevin abandons the case file to go to the kitchen. 

“It’s true,” Andrew muses, watching Kevin then turning to Neil. “Not only do you have a troublesome mouth; I was held at knifepoint day one.”

Neil laughs, winking at Andrew. “Oh really… You weren’t even phased.” When Andrew just stares, Neil flushes and looks to Kevin before glancing back at him. “We talked and… we think you’d be a great addition. You could start your own firm around here, help us with cases when you can.” 

Andrew can’t stop his face from showing his disappointment, frowning. “Just to help?”

Andrew’s heart slams into his chest when Neil’s visible skin flushes bright red. “Well! Uh… to start?” Neil coughs, not meeting his gaze. “Um… we have the space? I mean, we want you around? To help? Uh, Kev?

“Where is the vodka?”

Andrew smirks at Kevin’s question, noting Neil’s confusion until he looks at Andrew. A slow grin blossoms across that stunning face. 

“I _know_ I had a full bottle stashed here.”

“Welcome to your sobriety, Day,” Andrew sips from his mug nonchalantly. He may only be able to see Neil’s wide eyes, darting between him and Kevin but he can _feel_ Kevin’s annoyance.

“Excuse you!?”

Andrew looks up impassively from his seat when Kevin stomps over, eyebrow raised.

“I’m not working or living with or _dating_ someone who can’t address their own problems.” It’s a leap, but judging by the way Kevin stumbles back in surprise, it wasn’t poor judgement, thinking that’s what was happening here. As angry as Kevin looks at his forced sobriety, Andrew had cleared out all liquor from the apartment the day the couple went to the career fair, replaced the beer with decent non-alcoholic beer, and Kevin _hadn’t even noticed_.

“I need— ”

“You _need_ to deal with your history, Day,” Andrew levels him with a cool look. “Or do you need booze more than you need Neil?”

Kevin flushes and looks down. Andrew almost feels bad for him but can’t quite manage it. This is the intervention he needed, the one Neil could not or would not provide. After a moment, Kevin slumps and falls onto the couch, on top of a still healing Neil, murmuring into his neck as his boyfriend turns them on their side.

“ _I think you’ll do just fine here_ ,” Neil comments in German after Kevin finishes squirming until he’s comfortable. His smile making Andrew feel weak. “ _Thanks… he will appreciate this. He just doesn’t get it, and coming from me it’s more like an attack, ya know_?”

Andrew does know, thinking of how he’d gotten his twin sober… he sips his hot chocolate and looks to Kevin, his back pressed to the back of the couch where Neil pinned him, face in Neil’s neck. He’s clearly pissed about his booze being confiscated and if Andrew knows addicts like he does, Kevin is probably pouting for now until he can find a way to get more booze. The path to sobriety isn’t easy, getting Aaron sober certainly wasn’t, but this is only the first step. Kevin just needs to be reminded of what’s important… like his brother did. He isn’t a piece of shit, just hurting, like Andrew had… Andrew rubs his arm, the scars hidden beneath his armbands itching at the thought. 

“ _Will you tell us eventually_?” Neil asks, staring pointedly at his armbands. Kevin’s feet _nearly_ press against Andrew’s thigh where he is tucked into the opposite corner of the couch, Kevin being so damn tall, but he’s careful enough to avoid him. The couple has been this understanding from the start, respecting his boundaries without fail. 

Andrew looks at his covered arm, looking at Neil after. “ _I think it’s fair, if he can get his thirty-day chip_.”

Neil grins and strokes his fingers through Kevin’s hair. “ _Coming to AA with us_?”

Andrew shrugs, neither confirming nor denying.

“ _Well, where ya staying_?” Neil lifts a playful eyebrow.

Andrew smiles, actually smiles and nods. Neil’s beautiful face splits near in half with his own smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a wild ride. An amazing, wild ride!  
> Thank you for being on this journey with me for the RBB, I hope to see ya'll at the next event!
> 
> ~<3Nikos

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave kudos and a comment to let me know what you think!


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